


Her Latibule

by IntoTheAbYz



Category: MNL48
Genre: F/F, fakedating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25459648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntoTheAbYz/pseuds/IntoTheAbYz
Summary: latibule(n.) a hiding place; a place of safety and comfort;
Relationships: Abby Trinidad/Yzabel Divinagracia
Kudos: 1





	1. First Meeting

“No.”

“C’mon Yzabel, it wouldn’t be that bad!”

Rolling your eyes at your companion, you reach for your cup of coffee on the table and take your time having quite a long sip. The other girl sitting across from you merely sighs, letting her body sag against the booth’s backrest as she keeps her stare on you.

Sighing as you place your cup back on the table, you also lean against the backrest, but you keep your back straight as you cross your arms over your chest. 

And with every bit of defiance in your body, you meet your friend’s gaze head on, refusing to back down even when she starts giving you THE look.

“My answer is still no, Alyanah, and nothing you’ll do will make me change my mind.”

“Oh c’mon! This’ll be the perfect opportunity for you to show that good-for-nothing asshole of an ex-boyfriend of yours that he’s not a loss at all!”

At her statement, you couldn’t help but sigh. You can never figure out why but Alyanah never really liked your boyfriend — er, _ex-boyfriend_ — from the get-go. It’s baffling too, since Nate is the sweetest, kindest, and warmest guy (outside your family, of course) that you’ve ever met. 

“Uh, newsflash Alyanah, but I still want him back,” you say nonchalantly as you reach for your cup of coffee again.

“YOU WHAT?!”

Choking on your drink at her outburst, you hastily reach for some table napkins to wipe at some of the coffee that dribbled down your chin. 

Some of the patrons of the cafe sitting close to your booth are now looking at the two of you. Some of them are curious, yet some are scandalized. You look away in embarrassment. 

“ _Alyanah_! Keep your voice down!” you tell her in a harsh whisper, feeling your throat still burning when your drink went down the wrong pipe.

Aly has the decency to look reprimanded and embarrassed, as she reaches for her own cup of hot chocolate to take a languid sip. Shaking your head at your friend’s antics, you let your body sag against the booth’s backrest as you watch the other girl slowly finish her drink.

A moment of silence passes between the two of you, as you get distracted by memories — beautiful yet painful — with your now former boyfriend. Alyanah, for her part, seems to be distracted by her own thoughts too. 

Maybe five minutes pass in this manner, and you’re only brought out of your thoughts when you realize that you’re already finished with your drink. 

Heaving a sigh, you turn your gaze towards your companion and find yourself puzzled when you see that she’s already staring at you. And her gaze is very intent, at that. 

And then she smiles. The one that spells nothing but trouble, and you can already feel some years being cut from your life.

A bit weirded out by her behavior, and resigning yourself to the thought that Alyanah’s most probably gonna get her way again, you cross your arms over your chest again as you look at her expectantly.

“What?” you ask impatiently when a whole minute passes by yet she doesn’t say anything.

“What do you mean ‘what’?” she asks back, looking all innocent as she even tilts her head a bit to the side. Unfortunately for her, you know better.

“Spare me the acting, Jonah Alyanah,” you say, complete with an eye roll. And at the quirking of her lips into a smirk, you feel some slight annoyance bubble up in the pit of your stomach. 

She must’ve seen the irritation in your eyes, because she’s chuckling in amusement in the next second. Defeated, your body sags against the booth’s backrest once more. Yep, Aly’s most definitely going to have her way again, and there’s nothing you can do or say that can deter her will. 

You won’t even be able to put up a fight. And you’re sure as hell not going to. Not after what happened the last time you refused to go along with an idea of hers. 

Sometimes, you still get nightmares of being lifted on her shoulders while the whole world has the perfect view of your Hello Kitty printed underwear. The memory alone is enough to bring tears to your eyes.

“Hey.”

At this, you focus your attention back on Aly. Her smirk is gone, yet the look in her eyes doesn’t ease the dread looming in your chest. It's been years, yet you can never forget the horror from that single experience alone. 

That time when she carried you on her shoulders to take you to Nicole so that the two of you can _‘kiss and make up’ _.__

__

__There had been a small misunderstanding between you and Cole, and you hadn’t been talking for ten whole days when Aly decided to intervene. As thankful as you are for Aly’s attempt at helping you out, the whole ordeal before the actual making up was traumatizing enough._ _

__

__“What?” you ask, and you hate how your voice came out really shaky. If Aly has noticed it, she doesn’t say anything as she proceeds to just slouch against the backrest and pin you with _that_ smile again._ _

__

__“You said you want to get that good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend of yours back, right?”_ _

__

__Although confused by her question, you still manage to hesitantly nod your head._ _

__

__“Er . . . yes . . . ?”_ _

__

__“Okay then, I have a plan.”_ _

__

__By the mischievous glint in Alyanah’s eyes, you know that you’re not gonna like her idea one single bit._ _

__

____

**********

When Aly told you yesterday that she has an idea on how to get Nathan back, never has it ever crossed your mind that she meant _this_ by that. 

It’s been a solid seven minutes since the two of you stepped into this building, and five from those were spent with you just staring dumbly at the door of this office where Aly dragged you to.

You’re broken from your daze when the door slightly pushes open and Aly peeks her head out. You stare at her dumbly for a moment, before her brows furrow and she’s stepping out into the hallway again. 

"Yo, Dana Yz, you coming in or what?"

It slips your mind to reprimand her for walking straight into the room and leaving you out here for a good five minutes. Rolling her eyes at your unresponsiveness, she gently takes a hold of your wrist and hurriedly pulls you inside.

Nothing could have prepared you to the absolute mayhem that greeted you as soon as you stepped foot inside the — surprisingly — large room. 

The office building’s pretty famous for being pricey, so the floor to ceiling one-way glass walls with the perfect view of the city don’t really surprise you one bit. Not even the lavish furnitures or pricey rugs littering the marbled floors. 

The expensive stuff is a no-brainer given the nature of the suite. But what’s totally shocking are the people currently occupying the space. 

Off to the left corner of the room, there are two girls seemingly absorbed in whatever they’re watching on the tablet that the taller of the two is holding.

A little off to the side, there’s a girl with auburn hair obviously in a heated argument with a guy who’s at least a head taller than her. 

Standing about a foot away from them and leaning against the concrete wall of the office, there’s a brunette who’s a few centimeters taller than the other girl, watching the squabbling duo in clear amusement. 

At the other side of the room, a group of five — two girls and three guys — are engaged in some sort of card game. There’s shouting and throwing of all sorts of items ranging from plastic cups to unpaired socks, as well as some tugging and pulling of arms. 

Overall, that side of the room is very much chaotic.

Lastly, smack in the middle of all this mess, there’s a girl with shoulder-length hair roughhousing — and totally whooping the ass of — a guy who’s almost double her size.

You don’t know where to focus your attention on amidst all this mess and Alyanah, who probably sensed your internal turmoil, takes a step forward, cups her hands around her mouth, and shouts at all the other occupants of the room. 

All squabbles and shenanigans almost instantly stop at the sound of her voice, and the others only then take notice of your presence. Now with everyone’s eyes on you, you feel your heartbeat pick up its pace. You’ve never really been good with huge crowds and attention.

Volleyball doesn’t count, since you have the game to distract you from the crowds watching and cheering your team on. Right now though, you don’t have a game to focus on so you’re perfectly aware of twelve pairs of eyes staring at you in varying degrees of interest.

“Okay, enough with the staring. You’re starting to creep her out,” Aly says after another whole minute of staring goes by. 

On the outside, your expression remains unchanging. Yet internally, you’re breathing a sigh of relief and taking a mental note to treat Aly to her favorite frozen treats later on your way back to the dorms.

“Right, sorry about all that ruckus,” the girl with the auburn hair says as she walks closer towards you with the brunette in tow. 

There are genuine, warm smiles on their lips, and you feel your anxiety easing up in an instant. Letting your body finally relax, you try your best to reciprocate their smiles. Although, you’re kind of pretty sure yours resembles more of a grimace. You could only cringe internally.

“You must be the Yzabel that Aly had told us about last night, yeah? I’m Gia, by the way,” the girl — Gia — says again, to which you could only respond to dumbly with a nod of your head.

You can hear Aly fail to stifle her snicker beside you, and it takes all of your self control to not reach over to pinch her side. And then Gia’s words finally fully register in your mind and you turn to face Aly so quickly that you almost got whiplash.

Aly, for her part, squeaks in surprise at your sudden turn, taking half a step back as you squint your eyes at her in suspicion. Smiling your sickly sweet smile at your friend — she winces, because she _knows_ that the smile never means anything good for her — you slowly turn to face Gia again.

“I swear I didn’t tell them anything more than what was necessary!” Aly intervenes even before you could open your mouth, and you resist the urge to burst into laughter at the nervous expression on her face.

Gia merely smiles in amusement, nodding her head slightly to confirm Aly’s claim.

Still, it’s now sinking in that you’re actually about to do _this_. You can’t believe that you actually let Aly rope you into going to this fake dating “agency” to help you get your ex back. 

You’re using the term loosely because really, this _agency’s_ mostly made up of people from your university’s academic theater organization. They’re rich college kids with ample amounts of time in their hands and have nothing better to do.

It's totally not legal, but they make all their clients sign some sort of contract and swear them into secrecy, never to tell another soul — unless you trust them with your life — about the existence of the agency.

“ _It’s also good practice for our acting skills._ ” Aly had said as she was explaining all the shenanigans to you the previous night. Imagine your surprise when — after asking her how and why she knows so much about this fake dating hullabaloo — she tells you that she’s actually part of it too.

That she’s been doing it for the past two years. 

The two of you have been best friends since birth, even swearing to never keep secrets from each other, yet you’re only finding out about her side hustle now? 

Naturally, it took hours before you could grasp everything she’s told you then. You’ve had a lot of questions for her of course, and Aly was more than willing to answer each and every one of your queries.

So the two of you ended up staying up into the wee hours of the morning as she tried to explain to you how things worked at the agency. Still, she keeps on teasing you about how the first question that fell from your lips when you’ve come to your senses, was whether she was just fake dating her exes or not.

You’re brought back to the present by Aly lightly elbowing your side. Looking back up, you see that everyone’s staring at you in amusement, which makes your blood rush to your cheeks. Utterly embarrassed, you shyly shift your gaze to the floor.

Gia laughs, fond and amused, whilst some of the others chuckle softly at you. The sounds manage to fluster you even more, so you reach for the hem of your shirt and start picking at the loose threads — a nervous habit you developed as a child which you never managed to grow out of.

“Anyway,” Gia says with a loud clap, silencing everyone in the room once more. “Welcome to Latibule, where you can find real comfort and solace in fake feelings and relationships.”

She said the greeting so enthusiastically that it made you look up at her, puzzled. Gia’s comforting smile is back, and when the brunette standing beside her walks towards the sets of couches by the front glass walls, everyone else follows suit.

At the bewildered look on your face, the brunette girl who’s always sticking close to Gia, laughs softly. 

“Pretty catchy, right?” she asks with a chuckle. You could only smile at her hesitantly. “That was thought up by another member who’s unfortunately not here yet. She said she’ll be arriving soon though.”

“Okay, time for introductions!” Gia interjects cheerfully before you can reply, earning her amused chuckles from some of the occupants of the room, and groans from the others.

“Oh hush you party-poopers. Let’s start with the Rulers and the Rainbows though, so we can narrow down your choices quicker.”

“Rulers? Rainbows?” you can’t help but ask, because Aly never mentioned those terms once during your conversation last night.

“Corny, right? But Guinevere’s super proud of coming up with those terms for us,” the girl who’s roughhousing with the blonde guy earlier says with a playful eye roll.

“Hey! They’re witty! You’re just bitter that your suggestions were rejected by almost everyone except Ging~” Gia counters teasingly. 

The other girl looks like she’s about to respond, but the tall girl sitting beside her holds her back with a shake of the head. Grudgingly, the girl backs down with a sigh.

“Anyways, yes, Rulers and Rainbows. I’m kinda surprised Aly forgot to tell you about those but they’re just basically terms for the members of the agency. Rulers are the heteros, like Ruth, Kay, and Marcus over there.”

She motions towards the girls who were watching the tablet earlier and the blonde dude who got ass-whooped by that strong shorty sitting on the other side of the couch.

“Those three over there — Daryll, Alfie, and Kyle — on the other hand, are totally rainbows. So if you’re looking for a girlfriend, Daryll would totally be game.”

This time, Gia points to the girl with the shoulder-length hair and two of the guys who were playing cards with the others. Daryll smiles at you warmly, and you find yourself getting comforted at the gesture so you smile back.

“We also have the Spaghettis. There’s Nile, Cess, Zeus, Drei, and Ging. Oh, and Alyanah too. Unlike the Rulers and the Rainbows, they don’t really give a fuck about the gender of the people they’re gonna fake date.”

So, the guy Gia was arguing with is Drei. You think you recognize him from the men’s chess team, but you can’t really remember correctly because interactions between the volleyball teams and chess teams have been really limited.

“What about you though? And her?” you ask Gia, also pointing to the brunette whose smile has never once slipped from her lips since you’ve arrived. You can’t help but ask since Gia didn’t mention the two of them once.

“Ah . . . I’m totally a Rainbow, and I guess Ella’s a Ruler. When it comes to this fake dating at least. And we’re dating, so we don’t actually fake date other people now, unless the clients are really close friends or if the deal wouldn’t last longer than a day.”

You can only nod your head dumbly at her explanation, complete with a soft “oh” unconsciously falling from your lips. You’re too engrossed in your own thoughts that you fail to notice the amused and fond looks that the members of Latibule are directing at you.

“Oh! Why Spaghettis though? Um, if it’s okay to ask . . .”

It’s been bugging you since Gia mentioned it earlier. The Ruler and Rainbow make sense, but the last one doesn’t. Is it some kind of idiom? The Latibules share a look with each other, and Aly kind of looks panicked beside you, so your curiosity is piqued even more.

When Gia turns towards you again, there’s an amused smirk playing on her lips. She also has that mischievous look in her eyes, the one that Aly sports whenever she’s thinking of stuff that could get her — and consequently, you — in trouble.

Gia opens her mouth, most likely to explain, and you feel the anticipation burning in the pit of your stomach. But before she could even utter a single syllable, Aly beats her to it.

“You don’t need to know Yz!” she says in panic, and it makes your brows furrow in confusion, the corners of your lips lifting up in a small amused smile. You rarely see Alyanah get this flustered so it’s always amusing when she does.

“O . . . kay,” you say as the whole room gets filled with snorts and giggles from the other occupants.

Aly sulks, crossing her arms over her chest, but otherwise says nothing as she walks towards the couch and sits petulantly on Kay’s lap. The latter smiles adoringly before wrapping her arms around your best friend’s waist.

“So . . . Yzabel,” Ruth calls softly, and she looks so, so pretty smiling at you like that that you feel a light blush blooming across your cheeks. 

“Y-yeah?” you ask, cursing yourself under your breath at your inability to act all cool and normal in the presence of very attractive people.

“We’re assuming that Aly’s given you the run through of the mechanics last night?” At this, you nod your head in agreement. “Great. Do you want to have a little discussion with us, one by one, to help you in choosing?”

“You can take your time. And since you’re a very good friend of Aly’s, Ella and I are even willing to help you with getting your ex back. He’s the men’s football team’s goalkeeper, right?” Gia interjects, walking towards the left end of the longest couch and taking a seat on its armrest next to Ella.

Shyly, you let your gaze roam around the room, taking your time in observing all the Latibules as they smile at you warmly. Kay, Ruth, Alfie and Kyle are already crossed off the list for obvious reasons. And, of the others left, you feel the most drawn to Marcus and Zeus.

“Ah, yeah, before I forget, Yz.”

Confused, you turn towards Aly who’s still sat at Kay’s lap, except now she’s completely leaning against the other girl. Quirking a brow at this, you tilt your head to the side and with your gaze, you ask Aly what she wants.

“I know you’re totally hetero, but I think you should go for one of the girls. It’ll totally throw Nathan off-guard.”

When you’re about to argue — because you totally have no experience whatsoever in dating girls — Aly raises a hand to shut you up. It’s not that the idea of dating a girl, even if only for pretend, is repulsive to you. 

But you’d be completely out of your element, and it’s something that you totally don’t like feeling. Aly perfectly knows that.

When the smiles slip from the Latibules’ lips at your prolonged lack of response, you feel an immediate need to explain yourself and reassure them that you are in no way repulsed by the idea. But you’re bad at things like this so you end up a blubbering, panicked mess.

Sighing, Aly finally stands on her feet again and walks towards you, slinging an arm across your shoulders and facing the others. 

“Don’t worry,” she says, pulling you a bit closer and poking at your cheek with her finger. “Yzabel’s not homophobic. But she’s kind of a bit of a scaredy cat and is afraid of trying new things that are outside of her comfort zone. You see, she’s only ever dated three people and all of them are guys. Even her past crushes had all been guys.”

Although a bit vexed by the unnecessary information she dropped, you’re thankful for her intervention because the smiles are finally back on the Latibules’ lips. 

Sighing in relief, you’re about to ask them for some alone time with Daryll when the door of the office opens abruptly and clashes against the wall with a loud thud.

You cling to Aly in shock and bury your face against the crook of her neck, feeling your heart race at the sudden loud sound. But it seems like this is a common occurrence in this place because everybody else doesn’t seem phased. You even hear Gia let out a loud, disdained sigh from somewhere behind you.

“Abelaine! How many times do we have to tell you to open doors like a normal person would?!” Gia exclaims, and you hear her getting closer with every word. 

As you feel your heartbeat returning to its normal pace, you slowly let go of Aly and step back from your best friend’s personal space. Looking up, your gaze meets Aly’s and she smiles at you reassuringly.

“Sorry about that. Abby’s got this bad habit of knocking back doors like she’s in some kind of cheap action movie,” Aly says with an amused smile.

Shaking your head slightly to tell her that it’s okay, you turn to look towards the door where Gia’s scolding the newcomer.

Your gaze first catches the boots that she’s wearing, the type that’s usually donned by bikers, before your eyes travel up her jean-clad legs.

She’s wearing a black leather jacket, the ones that look like they’d cost the average person an arm and a leg. And underneath she has on a white fitted wife beater that accentuates her obviously perfectly toned body.

Letting your gaze travel even upwards, you take note of how straight and soft-looking her dark hair is, before your eyes finally land on her face.

And then you feel the breath getting knocked from your lungs because holy shit, she looks so damn familiar. 

The world seems to slow down as everything around you fades into the background, your attention solely on the girl with the darkest eyes and the most smouldering gaze you’ve ever seen. 

And when her eyes meet yours, the whole world around you putters to a stop and there’s nothing and no one else you can see but her. 

Her gaze is as intense as the very first time you’ve crossed paths with her way back freshman year — as if peering into and burning your very soul. And just like that first time many, many moons ago, you find yourself unable to look away.

Abelaine Trinidad.

She’s an enigma, that’s for sure. She doesn’t look like she has that many friends, but everyone on campus seems to know her. She’s quiet, mostly serious, and often brooding. As far as you’re concerned, she doesn’t know how to smile.

In your three years of staying in this university, you’ve only shared classes with her twice. Well, given that she’s from the college of engineering and you’re from the school of business, you two don’t really have that much subjects in common.

And during both times, Abelaine was always the first to arrive in class and the first to leave. And she rarely talked to any of your classmates, so you figured she’s not the social type.

Despite her aloofness though, she’s really, really beautiful. Her skin is as white and smooth as ivory, with rosy hints that always make her look like she’s blushing, and features that look like they’ve been sculpted by the gods themselves. Abelaine Trinidad has quite the killer looks.

She’s also filthy rich, extremely smart and wise, knows how to drive cars and motorcycles, knows how to cook, has a very beautiful, soothing singing voice — at least according to some people in her year — and there’s also a rumour going around that she’s such a lady-killer.

The older students also claim that she’s probably the best football player your university’s ever had. She was an MVP all throughout high school and became the ace of your university’s women’s football team during her freshman year.

Unfortunately, for some reason unknown to everyone who’s not a really close friend of hers, Abelaine quit the team right before her second year — the same year you and Aly entered the university.

You’ve always been curious about Abelaine, always wanted to get to know the older girl. Because you have quite a lot of common friends and your lives seem to overlap in more ways than one.

But you’ve never really had the chance to approach her. Because you’re really shy as fuck, but mostly because Nate didn’t want you to. For some reason, your ex-boyfriend never really liked Abelaine — the same way Aly never liked him.

You feel your heart skip a beat when you see the corner of Abelaine’s lips curl up in the slightest into a small smirk, as a glint of something _dangerous_ flashes in her eyes. The way her gaze shifts into a more . . . teasing one is enough to send shivers down your spine.

You’ve been sure, for the most part, about your sexuality ever since junior high as you’ve never really been attracted to anyone of the fairer sex. Yet why, as Abelaine continues to pin you with her smouldering gaze, do you feel this certain pull — much akin to attraction — towards the older girl?

The moment is brought to an abrupt stop when Aly claps her hands loudly. Breaking your gaze from Abelaine, you turn towards your best friend to see a scheming smile playing on her lips.

With the smile still on her lips, Aly then turns towards Gia. And, with the most annoying tone that she knows you hate hearing her use so much, she says:

“I think we found our latibule.”

**********

_What have I gotten myself into?!_

That thought had kept you up the previous night after you’ve come back from Find-Your-Latibule agency, festering in the forefront of your mind and keeping you awake into the wee hours of the morning. 

It also didn’t help that Abelaine had agreed almost immediately. Gia was then quick to pull you towards one corner of the room to discuss arrangements. 

Unfortunately, Abelaine had someplace to be soon after so you didn’t have the time to discuss details about your “relationship” with her. Although, she did promise to contact you as soon as possible.

It wasn’t until after you’ve given up on rolling all over your bed and getting up for a mug of warm milk with honey that you were finally able to slip into dreamland. 

Naturally, you’ve woken up quite late some hours later, so your mind has been occupied with getting ready as fast as you can so you won’t be late to your first class of the morning. It’s Philosophy 101 with that terror professor that nobody wants to mess with.

And now, three hours and two lectures later, you’re finally able to have a breather with your two-hour break. Unfortunately for you, you decided to check your emails as soon as you occupied your usual place at the university’s main library.

Curiosity got the best of you when you saw an email from Gia, but you’ve soon come to regret opening the message as soon as you saw its contents. 

It’s a scanned copy of the “contract” you signed the day before, swearing you into secrecy about the agency and all of your subsequent transactions with them. And also a copy of your payments for each day until the end of the agreement. 

And whew, that’s quite a hefty sum. Although, not one you couldn’t handle.

You’re in the middle of your self-pity and self-blame party — for letting Alyanah rope you into this insanity — when you feel someone slide into the seat across from you. 

Lifting your head from your arms, you slowly look up and barely manage to hold back a groan when you finally see who it is that decided to rudely intrude on your me-time.

You almost roll your eyes in annoyance when you’re met with the sight of Jackson "Jake" Villaruiz’ annoying grin. He’s the executive vice chairperson of your university’s student council. 

And he’s been in pursuit of you ever since you’ve been grouped together in that sociology class last year. Even though you were still with Nate that time. It seems that he took the breakup as some sort of sign because he’s been more pushy with his pursuit ever since.

A sharp pain shoots through your heart when you remember Nate again. The past few days, you had Aly successfully distract you from the sadness and the pain. 

But unfortunately for you, you don’t get to spend time with your best friend until after your last class of the day later at five.

It’s been three months, but you’re still hurting from your sudden breakup. You don’t know why it happened, didn’t even see it coming. Because honestly, you didn’t have any problems with your relationship at all and the two of you had been happy up until that point.

And then, about two weeks before Nate asked for a break, he started getting cold towards you. Naively, you thought that it was just the stress of finals getting to him, so you thought it best to give him some space.

He has a new girlfriend now — they’ve just gone exclusive last week — and she happens to be the captain of the university’s pep squad. She’s pretty, smart, captain of a national champion team, and extremely popular.

If you were to be honest, you can confidently say that you have nothing against her. No matter how much it hurts or how degrading it feels. But it’s the truth. 

If you were made to choose between yourself and Marsela Mari Guia, you’re pretty sure you’re gonna end up choosing her too.

“So, what do you say?”

Jake’s eager question snaps you out of your thoughts, and you try your best to see if you can recall whatever he’s said in the last five minutes but you come up with nothing.

Sighing, you start tidying up your stuff without so much as sparing him another glance.

“I’m sorry Jackson, but I’m really not interested,” you tell him, barely managing to keep the exasperation from dripping in your voice.

“But—”

Whatever he’s supposed to say gets cut off when you feel a slight weight settling on your shoulder. Surprised, you turn your head to the side only for your brain to short-circuit when you feel something soft and warm — and sweet — gently pressing against your lips.

It must’ve taken mere seconds before the new intruder pulls back, but it sure does feel like forever to you. Your lips are still tingling from the sensation, and your mind registers the scent of peaches and vanilla slowly overwhelming your senses.

Looking up, you feel your heart jump to your throat when you see the one and only Abelaine Trinidad smiling oh so sweetly down at you.

“Hey, babe,” she says in a somewhat gruff voice, and it sends shivers down your spines. “Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting for long?”

She’s giving you a look, as if apologizing for her sudden brazen action, before she very discreetly side-eyes the other side of the table you’re currently occupying.

It suddenly clicks in your mind, why she did that. But it doesn’t change the fact that she kissed you so now you’re a blushing, flustered mess. Though, even through the embarrassed daze your mind is in, you still manage to discreetly shake your head at her.

Abby’s smile widens a fraction, becomes much more genuine, and you can’t help but think about how much prettier she actually is when she smiles.

You’ve been so lost in your mindless admiration that you didn’t even take notice of Jake leaving the table and storming out of the library like the little spoiled brat that he is.

“Thank God he’s gone,” Abelaine says after making sure that he’s out of earshot, pulling the chair beside you and taking a seat haphazardly. “By the way, sorry about, uh, the kiss. It was just that I saw him harassing you and I just thought—yeah . . .”

Chuckling at Abelaine’s unexpected awkwardness, you feel some of the embarrassment and tension leave your body as you tell her it’s alright. 

Besides, your fake relationship starts today, so you might as well get used to intimacy with her as early as now.

At the sound of your chuckle, Abby smiles warmly, and it sends a wave of comfortable warmth to your heart. Yep, smiling really suits Abelaine a lot.

“So, _girlfriend_. . .”

You can’t help but feel giddy at the term, but of course you try your best to not let it show.

“I’m sorry about abruptly leaving yesterday. Are you ready to finally discuss our _relationship _?”__


	2. Abelaine

News travels fast.

This, you realize, is something true as word quickly spreads about you and Abelaine not even four hours after the whole library fiasco with Jake. 

Your time with Abelaine earlier had been unfortunately cut short again, her phone ringing at the exact moment she was about to start the discussion about your “relationship”. She had to leave immediately, and she did so reluctantly. But not before promising to meet you later in the evening.

From what you’ve gathered from her side of the phone call she received earlier, there had been some issues with the repertory company’s upcoming event, and her presence had been urgently needed. 

The sad and pouty look she sported right before she left almost made you melt into a puddle of goo, not expecting that the cold and aloof Abelaine Trinidad could be that cute. Of course, you didn’t let it show, but deep inside you were actually squealing like a mad fangirl.

Fortunately, you’re able to meet Abelaine earlier than expected since your last class of the day got cancelled. And the first thing you did after closing your professor’s mass email was to call the older girl to ask her if you can meet her earlier than the agreed time. To which she agreed almost immediately.

The stares of the students as you passed by the hallways of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering department — where you made Abelaine agree to meet with you — are near unbearable. 

The attention you’re garnering is suffocating, not used to this much people focusing on you all at once. Sure, you’re part of the varsity volleyball team. But you’re the libero so you don’t receive as much attention as, let’s say, Rans and Sayaka — the aces of the team.

But you have to get yourself used to this, because you are dating the Abelaine Trinidad — _fake dating_ , but only you and the Latibules know that, so . . . Sighing, you tighten your grip on the strap of your bag and walk a little faster to avoid all the staring. 

As soon as you step foot on the third floor’s landing, a relieved sigh escapes your lips. It’s because most of the rooms on this floor are research laboratories, so there aren’t as many people here as the floors below.

Taking tentative steps, you try to recall the room number of Abelaine's research laboratory. But you’re having difficulty remembering, so you’re about to give up and just call her when you run into another person.

A loud yelp escapes from your lips when you’re knocked off-balance, and you would’ve painfully landed flat on your bum had the other person not been quick enough to hold onto your waist to hold you up.

Looking up, you let out a little squeak in surprise when you recognize the girl as one of the Latibules. It’s the tall girl that held Daryll back from arguing with Gia at The Niche — the name that Abby, Aly, Gia, and Drei (or the nerds as Alfie likes to call them) refer to Find-Your-Latibule’s office.

If you remember correctly, she’s the one named Cess. And you actually remember her because like Ruth, the first thing that came to mind the first time your gaze landed on her was that she could be a supermodel.

She must’ve recognized you too, because her lips break out into a wide smile as recognition flashes through her eyes. Stepping back after helping you get back on your feet, she tilts her head a bit to the side and regards you silently.

“Hey, you’re Abby’s girl, right?” she says in greeting after a short while, reaching a hand out for you to shake.

You’re unable to respond immediately, and it absolutely has nothing to do with the fact that hearing her refer to you as _Abby’s girl_ actually sounded so nice to your ears. 

Bowing your head and letting your hair fall like a curtain to cover your face and hide the fact that you’re blushing, you hesitantly shake her hand.

Cess chuckles, fond and amused, making you look up at her in confusion. But the smile she’s directing at you is radiating so much warmth that it actually comforts you. Sighing, and feeling a bit more confident, you’re finally able to smile back at her.

“Aren’t you from the school of business? Are you here to visit Abelaine? Do you want me to walk you to her lab?” she asks as the two of you start walking, with you following her lead.

“Uhm, yes, thank you. We’re supposed to get dinner together so we can talk about our uh, y’know . . .” you reply shyly, trailing off stupidly and almost smacking yourself at your own lameness. 

Thankfully, Cess just finds you adorable so she merely chuckles in amusement. And then she stops in her step and turns to face you with furrowed brows.

It makes you panic on the inside, your mind immediately kicking in overdrive thinking if you’re ever said anything that might've ticked her off.

“Wait, you and Abelaine haven’t talked about it yet? That punk! We thought she was going to talk to you earlier.”

“Huh?”

At the confused look on your face, Cess merely sighs, even pinching the bridge of her nose in distress. 

“I can’t believe that idiot. Even after all the harassment she’s done to Alyanah last night for your schedule. I’m gonna smack some sense into that dumbass later,” Cess murmurs in frustration, her brows furrowing even more with every word falling from her lips.

It didn’t register at first, but the moment your brain finally absorbed Cess’ words, you feel your cheeks blush almost instantly again. So Abelaine had gone through that trouble just to get to talk to you earlier? 

You don’t understand what it could possibly mean, but your heart begins pumping awfully faster than normal at the thought.

“Uhm, actually . . .”

Cess turns towards you, and upon seeing the hesitant smile on your lips, her expression eases up a bit. You sigh a bit in relief.

“She did seek me out earlier. But unfortunately, she had to leave early again because of some issue with the repertory company,” you tell Cess, to which the other girl responds to with a defeated sigh.

“Ah, it’s our fault then. We forgot to tell the others to not bother Abby today. Sorry about that,” she says with an apologetic smile as the two of you start walking again.

“It’s fine. I don’t really mind,” you try to reassure her, and Cess’ smile widens a bit more. “Also, I didn’t know the two of you are from the same department.”

“Ah . . . yeah. Daryll too, but we’re from different degree programs. I’m taking up Computer engineering while Abby’s taking Electronics and Communications. Daryll’s taking up Electrical engineering.”

As she says this, Cess stops in front of an electronically-locked glass door. Looking up, you see the number 312 right beside the auto-lock. 

Pressing a series of numbers, the lock beeps and unlatches. She pushes the door open with a shout of _‘wassup bitches?’_ which earns her stuff like paper balls and handkerchiefs getting thrown at her direction.

Laughing, Cess gently grabs your wrist and pulls you inside. There’s a total of four people in the room, and one looks oddly familiar. It isn’t until the girl flashes you her signature toothy grin that you recognize her though.

“Jamie?!” you exclaim in disbelief. In your defense, she’s wearing glasses and her hair’s pulled up in a bun so you didn’t recognize her at first.

“Hey, Yzabel,” she greets back with an amused laugh, putting the very complicated-looking circuit she’s holding down on the table.

Jamie’s your batch representative to the school of business’ student council. And while the two of you aren’t particularly very close, you’ve shared enough classes with each other and organized numerous events together that you can safely say that the two of you are friends.

“What’re you doing here?” you asked after calming down, right as Cess slings an arm over your shoulder. 

Although a bit surprised at the action — that it even got you off-balanced for a bit — you find that Cess’ presence is quite comforting. So you relax in her hold soon enough as you basked in her warmth. 

Surprisingly, all of the Latibules give off warm and comforting auras, so it’s not hard to feel at ease with any of them at all.

Jamie looks puzzled — probably surprised that you’re being friendly with Cess — but otherwise doesn’t say anything.

“Ah, I’m here visiting a friend,” she says as she points to one of the girls tinkering with the oscilloscopes and power sources at the other side of the room. 

The girl with the long hair looks up for a bit, waves at the three of you distractedly, before focusing back on the task at hand. You think you recognize her as Andi from the varsity swim team. 

Huh, you didn’t know that she’s also an engineering student. And that she and Jamie are apparently friends.

“Princess? Is that you? You bastard. We’re in the same department and are literally staying in the same building, yet you don’t even bother visiting anymore!” the girl busy setting up what looks to be recording equipment suddenly says.

You think you’ve seen her around before, during the times you went to visit Francinne in the college of music. You can’t remember her name, but you do remember seeing her at conventions before, coming as a cosplayer much like yourself.

“Thea! It’s been a while. I've just been very busy,” Cess says with a chuckle, letting go of you to walk towards the other girl. Thea sets the equipment aside and meets Cess halfway for a hug.

“What brings you here?” Thea asks after they step back from their embrace. 

Cess shrugs, hiking a thumb towards you as she tilts her head to the side. There’s _that_ annoying smirk on her lips, and it doesn’t take a genius to know what’s currently going through her mind.

“I just accompanied Abby’s girl here. Apparently, they have a date tonight. Speaking of, where the hell is that punk?”

You feel yourself blush harder than before when Cess refers to you as Abby’s girl again. Sparing a glance towards Jamie, you see that she’s looking at you all surprised and wide-eyed. She probably hasn’t caught wind of your "relationship” with Abelaine yet.

Shooting her an apologetic look, you mouth an _‘I’ll explain later’_ at her just as Thea exclaims _‘Abelaine has a girlfriend?!’_ in shock. Feeling flustered when all the people in the room turn their attention towards you, Abby chooses this time to step foot inside the room.

“Abelaine! Great timing, look who I brought with me,” Cess says in a teasing tone, and Abby looks up from the tablet in her hands in surprise.

“Yzabel!” she exclaims, ignoring Cess and placing the device on the table as she hurriedly makes her way towards you. The other girl grumbles and crosses her arms over her chest yet says nothing about it.

Taking your bag from you, Abelaine places it on the chair close by and pulls you in a tight embrace, even kissing the side of your head before pulling back. 

All eyes are on the two of you, four pairs curious while one is amused, yet you couldn’t bring yourself to care about them at the moment because the spot where Abelaine kissed you is still tingling at the sensation of her soft lips.

“Hey,” she greets softly, gaze all soft and fond and a little bit playful.

Shaking your head in amusement, the corners of your lips quirk up in a smile as you softly flick her on the forehead. You think you’ve only spent a total of thirty minutes with her earlier, but it was enough to get the two of you comfortable with each other.

_“I don’t know, but you’re easy to be with and I feel comfortable with you. Weird, right? But I think we’re gonna be close friends, Miss Yzabel.”_

You recall Abelaine telling you that earlier, when you asked her how she can talk and interact with you so casually like you’re lifelong friends. When in actuality, it hasn’t even been a full day since you’ve been formally introduced to each other.

And honestly, you feel the same way about her.

They can call you crazy or whatever, but you feel like you can trust the older girl with your life even though you practically don’t know each other yet. 

Maybe it has something to do with her eyes. How those deep, dark pools exude nothing but gentleness and warmth. 

Or maybe it has something to do with her smile, how pretty and how crazy contagious it is.

It can also be her laugh. How the sound seems to come from deep within her belly — always loud, genuine, hearty. And contagious just like her smile. Abelaine’s laugh is probably your most favorite sound in the world.

Or, maybe it’s just Abelaine herself. How she exudes warmth, calm, and comfort underneath her aloof and uncaring façade. 

Either way, you feel comfortable around Abelaine. And her presence has brought you a sense of peace and calm that you didn’t think you’d get to experience with another person outside your family and close friends ever again.

Your mulling is brought to an abrupt stop when Cess throws a neck pillow at Abelaine and it hits the latter square at the back of her head. 

“Yo lovebirds! Enough with the eye-sex. Aren’t you supposed to be going out on a date? Save that stuff for after dinner!” Cess says with a snicker. 

You can only shake your head. The Latibules sure are a handful, but they’re a really fun bunch. You guess you should grab something for Alyanah on the way home later, for introducing you to this amazing group of individuals.

Abelaine’s right eye twitches dangerously as her brows furrow, and you can actually see her nostrils flaring in annoyance. From her spot, Cess is sending the older girl funny looks, which the latter doesn’t see since she has her back to the younger girl.

Honestly, how can these people make you feel this comfortable with them at such a short period of time? It really makes you wonder. But you save these thoughts for a later time and focus on the task at hand. You try your best not to chuckle as you send Cess a reprimanding look.

The other girl responds by playfully raising her hands in surrender as she suppresses a laugh. With a shake of the head, you gently cup Abelaine’s cheeks and squish them together, making her lips pucker out in a funny way.

“Stop scowling. You’re gonna get wrinkles,” you tell her as you lean forward to peck the tip of her nose. 

Your own action catches you by surprise. Even Abby looked quite a bit shocked for a moment, since that kiss was really unexpected, but she quickly regains her composure and proceeds to grin at you widely. From the corner of your eyes, you can see Cess smirking at you teasingly.

“Cute. But girls, need I remind you that you two aren’t alone in this room?” Thea says with a chuckle, with a tinge of amusement in her voice. 

Flustered, you quickly apologize to the other occupants of the room — stutters and all. Abby laughs, loud and carefree, and you find yourself tickled pink at the sound once more. Yep, definitely your favorite sound in the world.

“Sorry, sorry. Fine, we’ll be heading out then,” Abby says as she walks towards the backpack rack near the water dispenser. She takes the black Supreme knapsack at the top bunk before walking back towards you.

“I’ve finished the set-up in the anechoic chamber so you can proceed with the recordings as soon as the people from Music arrive,” she says to Thea, to which the other responds to with a grateful smile and a nod.

Abby then takes your bag and slings one of its straps on her right shoulder as she reaches for your hand with the other and interlaces your fingers together. 

You ignore the way that shock waves erupt on your palm where her skin is touching. And the way the scent of peaches and vanilla is quickly invading your senses and getting you drunk on it. 

Bidding everyone in the room goodbye, and with one last playful wink from Cess, you and Abby step out of the research laboratory to finally head to your “date”.

*********

“Yzabel? Is there something wrong?”

Abby’s looking at you worriedly, her brows drawn in concern and the corners of her lips pulled down in a worried frown. You wanted to speak up and reassure her that you’re fine, that there’s absolutely nothing wrong, but your lips stubbornly remain shut.

You’d probably be worried sick too, if you were in her shoes. Because the moment you sighted the sign board of the very familiar establishment she took you to for dinner, the memories almost immediately assaulted you mercilessly. 

And then your heart’s been seized by the immense pain that you forgot keeps haunting you, rendering your body frozen still as you stared at the building’s entrance with a haunted look in your eyes.

_“I’m sorry Yzabel, but this just isn’t working out anymore. I think it’s best for us to go our separate ways.”_

You have so many memories in this place, all good and happy except the last time you ever set foot here before now. Because it was here that Nate decided on his own that your relationship isn’t worth keeping anymore. 

And it was at this same place that you let him walk away from your life without so much as a single word, unable to ask him to return your heart to you.

Before you know it, the tears have begun flowing steadily down your cheeks as a soft sob escapes from your lips. It hurts still. Oh god does it hurt. And a chuckle almost slips past your lips as you think about how successful Alyanah had been at distracting you from the pain.

It's been a little over four months now, so why hasn't the pain died down a little? If anything, you think it even gets more painful with each day that passes. 

Nate might not be the very first person you dated, nor the very first person you kissed, but he's the first person you've fallen in love with and it seems like your heart can't still accept the fact that he just doesn't want to have anything to do with it anymore.

Why can't you just accept it? That he doesn't love you that way anymore? You're even being so pathetic right now, going to the extent of hiring a fake girlfriend just to make your ex jealous. Love really does make people do stupid things, huh?

You're brought out of your dazed thoughts at the feel of something soft and warm pressing against your lips, and the scent of peaches and vanilla assaulting your senses. Familiar. This all seems very familiar and very warm that you can't help but feel relaxed.

Closing your eyes, you let yourself bask in and get comforted by the unexpected yet welcomed warmth. The dark haze clouding your mind slowly disperses and makes way for clarity and an overwhelming sense of calm. 

And the painful, erratic beating of your broken and beaten heart slows down into a steady pace, getting fixed slowly and finally putting a stop to the painful bleeding you've been enduring for months.

The softness against your lips is gone soon after, as the scent of peaches and vanilla slowly gets muted when Abelaine steps away from your personal space.

Slowly opening your eyes, you see Abelaine looking at you with tenderness in her eyes and a comforting smile on her lips. And being cared for by the older girl like this, you think, feels very akin to being cocooned in a thick blanket of security and peace. 

It is at this exact moment that you think the term latibule perfectly fits Abelaine. Because right now, she's your source of safety and comfort from all the pain and heartbreak you're enduring. She's your latibule, and the thought is enough to put a smile on your face.

"Erm, I'm s-sorry. Y'know, about kissing you so suddenly like that. It's just that uhm, I've been calling out to you and you were being unresponsive. It . . . It was the first thing that came to mind," she says apologetically, scratching at her flushed cheek nervously as her gaze flitters on everything but you.

It makes you blush hard too, because it's only the first day of your pretend relationship yet she's already kissed you twice. Even Nate wasn't able to get a kiss from you until after the fourth date. And though flustered, you find that you actually don't mind.

Besides, you quite like seeing the adorable nervous, awkward look she sports after she kisses you.

Shaking your head, you reach out to take a hold of Abelaine's hand, interlacing your fingers together as you flash her a reassuring smile.

"It's fine, Abelaine," you tell her softly, gently squeezing her hand when her brows begin to furrow. "I should be the one to apologize for how—"

"No," she cuts you off quickly with a shake of her head. "You don't have to apologize for _anything_ , okay?"

She's looking at you sincerely, intently, as if she's peering right into your very soul and rendering you speechless for a moment. And like usual, you find yourself unable to look away. So you could only nod your head.

Abelaine smiles, and you can't help but think how it's the prettiest sight in the world.

"I don't know what's happened here to make you react the way you did, but I can sense that this place is bringing upon you a great deal of pain. We can go someplace else for dinner if you want, because the last thing I want is to make you feel anything but comfortable when you're with me. But we can also stay here and make new memories together that can help you erase all the bad ones you have of this place."

She pauses from speaking to look at you softly. She's still smiling, and it's the smile that actually soothes your aching soul. And then you have a eureka moment right then and there. Because maybe it's Abelaine's soothing presence that makes it so easy to be with her.

"I know it's scary, but please trust me enough to help you get over that fear. I promise you, that as long as I'm here, I'm not going to let you continue getting hurt. You have horrible memories of this place? Then let's go and wipe them all off so we can replace them with better, happier ones, alright?"

Abelaine smiles at you again, all wide and genuine and reassuring. And for the very first time in four months, you think you're actually going to be okay again. You find yourself believing every single word she's said.

**********

“I’m curious though. Why not Aly?”

“Huh?”

You look up from your bowl of ice cream to pin your companion with a confused gaze. The two of you had just finished dinner — where Abby introduced a whole new set of great food to you — and are currently enjoying your dessert.

“Erm, why didn’t you just choose Aly to fake-date?”

The two of you had lapsed into comfortable silence as soon as the bowls of ice cream arrived, having just finished discussing details about your fake relationship. 

You both agreed to the narrative that it was Alyanah, who is Abelaine’s teammate in the repertory company, who introduced you to each other about a month ago. And it was after three weeks of getting to know each other that you and Abelaine agreed to exclusively date each other. 

You were hesitant at first, because you think the pace of your relationship is way too fast to be believable. But Abelaine was quick to reassure you that it’s perfectly fine.

_“Do you think we have chemistry, Miss Yzabel? Because I do, and I think we have a great deal of chemistry between us. Even the other latibules think so too. And besides, do you feel comfortable with me?”_

_You nod your head, because you’re more than comfortable with her._

_“That’s good, because I feel comfortable with you too. You see, Miss Yzabel, we don’t really need a lot of history if we’re comfortable with each other and have great chemistry. For short, we’re compatible, so we don’t need to have a lot of history between us.”_

“Yzabel? You still with me?”

Abelaine’s soft voice brings you out of your thoughts, and you shake your head a little as you refocus your attention on her. Smiling apologetically at her, you reach for your bowl of ice cream again before answering her earlier question.

“Aly’s been my best friend since birth, and she’s grown to be more like a sister to me. Nate knows this, so me “dating” Alyanah wouldn’t be believable to him at all.”

“Makes sense. Then, why me? I know I’m good-looking and really desirable, but is there any other reason why you chose me?”

You can’t help but snort into your ice cream at her gloating, but her tone is playful and there’s a teasing smirk on her lips, so you know that she’s merely joking. 

Feeling in the mood to be playful as well, you adopt a contemplating stance, complete with pressing your pointer finger against your chin. Then, you flash your best playful smirk. 

You must be imagining things, because it was gone in a flash, but you think you see the pleasantly surprised look flash across Abelaine’s eyes.

“Hmmm . . . let’s see . . . I dunno, besides looking at you and thinking that you’d be the perfect arm candy, I think I have no other reason for choosing you.”

Abby fakes a gasp, complete with clutching at her heart as she pins you with an offended look. Sagging against her seat’s backrest, Abby pouts at you exaggeratedly. The idiot even goes as far as using puppy eyes on you, and she keeps this up until you couldn’t hold your laughter back.

She laughs along with you, and you find the mixed sounds of your laughter pleasing to the ears. Recovering from your giggling fit, you also lean against your seat’s backrest as you flash Abelaine a wide smile.

“Though, to answer your question seriously . . . I don’t know. I was going to choose either Marcus or Zeus, and I did consider Daryll for a moment because Aly said I should choose from one of the girls. But then you arrived and . . . I don’t know, it just felt like the right thing to do. Choosing you, I mean.”

Abelaine doesn’t say anything for a while, her lips set in a straight line as she keeps a poker face on. And it unnerves you a bit, because your words might’ve put her off. You were about to apologize when she lets out a rather loud ‘hmmm’ as her lips curl up into a teasing smirk.

That playful glint is back in her eyes and she leans forward on the table, her entwined hands resting on top of the wooden surface, as she looks at you with that annoyingly cute teasing expression of hers.

“Hey, Miss Yzabel?”

“What?” you ask, suspicion lacing your voice as you squint your eyes at her. “And for the last time, Abelaine, will you please stop calling me miss? Yzabel is fine.”

“Then stop calling me Abelaine and call me Abby instead, like how the others do. But on second thought, I do kinda like the way my name sounds coming from you . . . Hmmm . . .”

“Ugh. Okay fine, whatever,” you say with a roll of the eyes. 

It’s just been a little over an hour since the two of you arrived here, but Abelaine had managed to break down the walls you spent years building around your heart to protect yourself from getting hurt by other people. Abelaine Trinidad sure is something special.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so stingy~” she says teasingly, to which you just respond with a raised brow and a flick to her forehead. 

“Ouch!” she exclaims, leaning back and massaging the offended spot. This makes you smirk in amusement.

Pouting like a sad, kicked puppy, Abelaine feigns sulking on her seat as she once again leans back against the backrest. She crosses her arms over her chest and rolls her eyes playfully when she sees your smirk. 

You know she’s just holding back a smirk of her own from the way the corners of her lips keep twitching. You pretend you don’t notice though.

“Really, Abelaine? What are you, a baby? Stop being sulky! It doesn’t make you look cute,” you tell her with a chuckle, finishing the remaining contents of your bowl in one scoop.

“I’m not a baby!” she says as she also reaches for her neglected bowl. Then, with the most shit-eating grin you’ve ever seen on her lips, she says: “But I can be your baby.”

Bowing your head a little to hide the fact that you’re blushing, you snort at her words to hide your fluster. Abelaine lets out an indignant ‘hey!’, which makes you burst into a laugh. Defeated, the older girl merely sighs at your reaction.

“Smooth. But I’m not gonna fall for that,” you tell her with a smirk as you push your bowl to the side. She just smiles fondly, shaking her head as she too, pushes her bowl to the side along with her used plate.

“Alright, I give. You’re one tough cookie, Yzabel,” she says, chuckling earnestly. She then reaches for her glass of water and takes a languid sip before speaking again.

“Anyway, we have one last important thing to talk about.”

“Huh? What?”

“Rules.”

“Rules?” you can’t help but ask dumbly.

“Yup, rules. Just so we know what to and not to do during the duration of this relationship,” she explains with a smile, and you find yourself nodding along to her words.

“Oh . . . rules. Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“So, what are your rules for me, Miss Divinagracia? You can lay them all down tonight and I’ll be sure to take note of all of them.”

You contemplate for a while, thinking of a set of rules you’d like for her to follow whilst the two of you are “dating”. But nothing comes up as of the moment so you just let out a sigh.

“Can I just tell you them as we go along? I just can’t think of anything off the top of my head right now,” you tell her honestly, and she just nods her head in understanding as she smiles at you reassuringly.

“What about you, though? Do you have a set of rules for me?” you ask her back. She seems pleasantly surprised that you asked, but otherwise says nothing about it as she proceeds to answer your question.

“I’m not particularly picky when it comes to the things I’m willing to do for my fake dates. Since I started with this whole fake dating shenanigan, I've only had one rule though."

“Alright, let’s hear it then,” you tell her as you adjust yourself on your seat. 

"My clients are in no way allowed to fall in love with me."

On the outside, you respond to her statement with an eyebrow raise. But that’s just you putting up a front. Because you don’t understand why, but her words had sent a sharp, piercing pain to your heart that you’ve never actually felt before.

Abelaine’s staring at you with an unreadable look in her eyes. But her gaze is intent, as if studying your reaction to her words. Sighing, you playfully roll your eyes at her. 

You can’t let her know that there’s a twinge of something that awfully feels a lot like disappointment festering in your heart.

"Huh, that's such a conceited thing to say, don't you think?"

"What can I say? I'm quite the charmer. But . . ."

"But?"

"If it's you, then I think I won't really mind."

"Huh?

"I mean, you're really pretty and smart. And there's never a boring moment with you. I'd say you're a total catch, Miss Divinagracia. Or would you prefer future-Mrs. Trinidad?"

You chuckle at that, because you don’t know how else to react. You also can’t understand why you can’t bring yourself to tell her that you’re straight, that you’ve never really been attracted to girls before.

Given, you’re not really limiting your dating options. But so far, you’ve only ever liked guys. And your heart never once raced for a single girl. Well, maybe until now. 

Because your heart is currently running rampant inside your chest, beating mercilessly against your ribcage, and it’s something that has never ever happened before — not even with Nate.

Trying your best to act nonchalant, you lean forward against the table, adopting the same stance Abelaine had mere moments ago. And then you flash her an amused smirk, to which she merely smirks back.

"You really are such a smooth talker huh, miss engineer."

"Still in the making, but thanks. Although, can you really call it smooth-talking when I'm saying nothing but the truth?"

“Dork,” you can’t help but say with a snort, making Abelaine grin widely as she shoots you finger hearts.

“But I’m your dork.”

God, you can’t help but think how it’s so easy to be with Abelaine. 

The quirky, funny personality beneath the cold and aloof surface was such a pleasant surprise. And you’re certain that there’s more to Abelaine Trinidad than what you know of now.

You want to get to know her more, to get to know her better. But you can do that bit by bit. For now, you’re just going to enjoy the time you get to spend with her. 

Smiling at the dorky look she’s sending your way, you reach over the table and flick her hard on the forehead again.

“Ow! What are you, a sadist? Do that one more time and I’m gonna be filing for domestic violence, woman!”

This is absurd, you can’t help but think. But you can’t deny that when you’re with Abelaine and she’s being silly like this, you’re genuinely having fun and you’re forgetting that your heart is still broken and hurting inside your chest. 

She kept her promise, because now, when you step foot in this establishment again, you’re gonna be thinking about nothing else but this night, and how much fun you’ve had with Abelaine the entire time.

Smiling at the older girl fondly, you once again reach a hand over the table towards her face. But instead of flicking her forehead, you gently cup her cheek.

“Thank you,” you tell her sincerely, gratefully.

Abelaine’s expression softens as she meets your gaze, and she turns her head to the side to place a light butterfly kiss against your palm before leaning into your touch. 

The feel of her lips against your skin was enough to make your heart skip a beat. You’re pretty sure your cheeks are flushed once again, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look away.

“Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I kinda started this on a whim, and because I've been wanting to read MNL48 Aus about fake dating. I'm also really busy, maybe until the end of August, so updates wouldn't be regular. Sorry about that. Anyways, keep safe everyone~


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